VM’s Top 5 Favorite Things About Shaky Beats 2017

Our roots are deeply grounded in the great state of Georgia. So when there is a festival of this size and quality in the heart of one of our favorite cities, we just have to show our love. Atlanta is known for many things – as of late it may be the collapsing of highways and MARTA catching on fire – but there is no denying this city knows how to host a music festival or two.

2. Centennial Park

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Shaky Beats returned to Centennial Olympic Park in the heart of Atlanta, GA, for its second year. With a line-up boasting the likes of The Chainsmokers, Kaskade, GRiZ, Bonobo, Flosstradamus, Zeds Dead, Galantis, RL Grime, Gramatik, the return of Girl Talk, and many more, this year’s fest certainly did not disappoint.

If you are familiar with Centennial Park when there’s not a festival occupying the park, the idea of a loud, electronic focused festival with three stages may raise some skepticism. We were anticipating unbearable hoards of attendees packed into the park and awful noise bleed from the stages. We were met with neither. Sure it was crowded, of course, but nothing insufferable, and no noise bleeding. That’s a win for us.

3. Gramatik

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Gramatik is just one of those artists we are always happy to see on a lineup. With a Gramatik set, you know you’re always going to have a funky energetic time. We couldn’t stop shakin’ our beats throughout the late afternoon performance. Gramatik was absolutely one of our favorite sets from Day 2 at Shaky Beats.

4. Slushii

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That hair. That jersey. Those bright colors. That Slushii cartoon. We loved it. This was our first time seeing Slushii (Julian Scanlan) live. Not only is he known for his work with artists such as Marshmello and Skrillex, Scanlan also puts on one hell of a show.

5. The Chainsmokers

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There is no denying it, we’re fans. The Chainsmokers‘ set was everything we wanted it to be and definetely how we wanted to end our Shaky Beats weekend. All of our favorite anthemic songs were played and Centennial was absolutely alive with sing-a-longs Sunday night. Each time we’ve seen The Chainsmokers, their performance just gets bigger and better.

It all started when a much younger Jackie dove into her parents’ record collection, grabbed that trippy Magical Mystery Tour album, and played “Strawberry Fields” over and over again until it was engrained into her soul. She grew up on the dreams and stories of Simon and Garfunkel, “Bleeker Street” being one of her favorites, the seduction of The Doors, Van Morrison, because “Brown Eyed Girl” is definitely her song, and the likes of Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Jimi Hendrix…you get the picture. It may not show on the outside, but Jackie has a hippie heart, and that reflects in her musical tastes today. While some of her favorites may or may not be jam bands, her taste in music feeds into many genres. From alternative, Brit, and indie rock - OK, maybe all rock - to pop, to rap, to electronic, she loves it all. As a northerner, she thought she would never understand country until she found herself on a Georgia farm in cowboy boots watching Luke Bryan shake it for her- yeah, she got that. She is a chronic wanderluster, she doesn't believe in guilty pleasures, enjoys a great Moscow Mule, and is an absolute music festival fanatic- you’ll find her wherever the music takes her.